EXCLUSIVE: Smoking in taxis and verbally abusing pedestrians among complaints against taxi drivers in Louth

Complaints of drivers verbally abusing pedestrians and smoking in taxis were just some of the 41 complaints made against taxi drivers and drivers of Small Public Service Vehicles in Louth between 2017-2021, the Dundalk Democrat can exclusively reveal.

The figures released to the Democrat by the National Transport Authority (NTA) under FOI show that action was taken against the driver in 19 of these cases.

Actions took a variety of forms ranging from fines and cautions, to advice being given to the driver.

The remaining cases were not actioned upon with the most common reasons given including the driver being found to have not been at fault and an investigation not being carried out due to insufficient information provided in the complaint.

The largest number of complaints (22) were made in relation to “fare matters”, 12 were made due to “driver behaviour”, five because of “hiring matters” and a further two due to “vehicle condition.”

A breakdown shows that 2021 saw five complaints made in Louth; 2020 saw six complaints; 2019 saw 16 complaints; 2018 saw eight complaints; 2017 saw six complaints.

One of the complaints made in 2017 related to a passenger alleging that their driver was on the phone when they entered the taxi and did not end his call even when they had been sitting in the taxi for a few minutes.

When the driver pulled away, he was still using the phone and had to be directed by the passenger as he was not paying attention.

This incident resulted in the driver being cautioned by the NTA following an investigation.

Another complaint made in 2018 which resulted in the driver being fined related to an incident whereby:

“Passenger approached taxi at a taxi rank and asked to be taken to stated destination.

“Driver refused and told the passenger to take the next taxi on the rank.”

A further complaint in the same year explained:

“Passenger ordered taxi and when it arrived, they opened the door and was (sic) still getting ready.

“Driver became irate and passenger decided to tell him to leave.

“The passenger complained to the taxi company by telephone but alleges that they did not take the complaint seriously and were also rude.”

The NTA cautioned the driver in question as a result.

One 2019 complaint detailed how:

“Passengers paid a ‘deposit’ for the journey before the taxi left the taxi rank.

“However, when nearing the destination, the driver refused to go any further and asked the passengers to leave the taxi.

“The passengers also state that there was no driver identification on display.”

In response to this incident, the NTA issued the driver with a fine.

In a complaint made last year, a passenger contacted the NTA explaining that they had booked a taxi and that when it arrived at the venue, the passenger acknowledged it and returned to the venue. When they came out again, the taxi had left.

The resulting investigation into this complaint resulted in the driver being cautioned.

Commenting on the figures a spokesperson for the NTA said:

“Every complaint and report received is assessed and investigated if there is any evidence to suggest that an offence may have been committed.

“Offences are set out within the Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016 and Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015.

“Ultimately, evidence of an offence must be of a standard that would enable a successful prosecution at court. Nationally, during this period, over 1,110 offences were prosecuted by NTA.

“NTA compliance officers undertake checks of small public service vehicles at the roadside with the aid of a remote device and during this period, over 800,000 checks were recorded nationally.

“Following these checks, more in-depth roadside audits were carried out on almost 52,000 licences and during this period, over 5,600 Fixed Payment Notices were issued for a variety of offences.

“Receiving complaints and information from customers is an important element in the overall approach to compliance.”